Car Dealer Tricks You Should Beware

Every one knows that shifty car dealers have tricks up their sleeve to get you to buy from them while making the most money they can off you. In this blog post we’ll tell you about such tricks so that you can avoid falling for them.

The Four Square Worksheet

When you sit down with a car dealer to start negotiating the terms for buying the car you want most of them will use a four square work sheet. Each square is for a different component which together make up the terms of the deal, i.e. purchase price, down payment, finance plan (monthly payments, loan etc.) and trade in value. The dealer will try to give you excellent terms on the square they think is most important to you while using the other squares to maximize their profit.

Inflated Monthly Payments

When a car dealer asks you about your budget and how much you can afford to pay each month what you should do is tell them you don’t want to discuss payment plans and financing until the final purchase price is fixed. If the dealer knows what’s the maximum you’re willing to pay each month it’s pretty sure that’s what you’ll end up paying.

Unattractive Financing Terms

Dealers try to make money on finance plans they offer you. You should remember that it’s all about money, and loans can cost more or less depending on interest rates. What you should do is find out if you’re eligible for a car loan elsewhere so you’ll know if you can get better loan terms than those the car dealer is offering you.

Intel Gathering

As you’re walking around the showroom you will probably be talking to anyone with you (spouse, family or a friend) about what you like in the car you intend buying, the price you hope to get it for, how you plan to pay etc. Car dealers have ways to gather this kind of info without you noticing, they may seem busy but actually be eavesdropping so make sure you keep your cards close.

Bill Of Sale With Blanks

You should avoid at all cost signing a bill of sale in which some points are not finalized. Terms such as “subject to bank approval” may be used later to force you to agree to things you would not have agreed to before committing to buying the car.

Naturally, the tricks we mentioned are only some of those car dealers may use. Some dealers are more unscrupulous than others, try to buy from a dealer that you know is on the up and up.